World Comparisons

The total world area under vines covered 7.5 million hectares in 2017 (Table 27, page 12). The latest data showed Spain has the largest area under vines with 967kha, representing an equivalent of 12.84% of area with plantation globally. China is closing the gap to become the second largest country with 870kha (11.55% globally) of area under vines. Australia remained at 11th globally with 145kha under vine around the country, representing 1.92% of the total area around the world (Table 27, page 12).

The major wine producers (Italy, France, Spain and the US) recorded a decline in production. Despite a relatively smaller bearing area, Australia produced 5.5% (ranked 5th) of the world’s wine creating an export market worth €1.7 billion in 2017 (Tables 28 and 29, page 13). Italy was the largest wine producer in the world producing 4,250ML of wine with 17.1% of global market share in 2017. This was closely followed by France (3,660ML) and Spain (3,250ML). These top 3 countries were responsible for 45% of wine production globally in 2017 (Table 28).

As a result, these 3 countries contributed 55% of the wines exported in 2017. Spain was the largest exporter transporting 2,320ML of wines produced worldwide contributing €2.8 billion to the Spanish economy. Italy exported 2,140ML (€5.9 billion) while France remained the biggest world exporter in terms of value, with €9 billion of exports in 2017 (Table 29). Australia showed strong growth in 2017 with an increase of 13.3% in export value contributing €1.7 billion with 780ML (up 7% in volume) shipped internationally (Table 29).

On the other hand, Germany maintained its position as the top wine importer in volume with 1,520ML of wines transported into the country valued at €5.2 billion. The United Kingdom was closely behind with 1,320ML imported into the country. However, it is currently difficult to predict the long-term consequences of Brexit on the wine industry (Table 30, page 13).

The United States imported 6.3% more wine in 2017, an overall 1,180ML equaling €5.2 billion. China observed another significant rise of 17% in import volume with 750ML distributed into the country (Table 30). Domestic demand in China was the biggest contributing factor to growth in the global trade in wine in terms of volume in 2017.

The US topped wine consumption in 2017 at 3,260ML increasing by 2.84%, accounting for approximately 13.4% of world consumption, with France, Italy, Germany and China rounding out the top 5 (Table 31, page 13). Australia is the tenth largest consumer in the world at 590ML, up by 2.4%, while Portugal showed the largest increase of consumption at 10.6%. Argentina dropped in wine consumption by 5.3% to 890ML (on top of a drop in 8.3% in 2016), likely due to the poor harvest brought about by an El Niño climate event in 2016. The country is yet to recover to normal production levels which could explain the lower consumption.